


Contrast and Symmetry

by failedcharismacheck



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Art School, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dialogue Heavy, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Photographer Poe, Slow Burn, baze and chirrut as gossipy neighbors, painter Finn, poe nervous sweats when boys look at him this is canon, sculptor Rey, smoochin!, this is gonna be so cliche
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-08-22 12:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8286322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/failedcharismacheck/pseuds/failedcharismacheck
Summary: '“I’ll see you around, Poe Dameron?” he asked, and Poe wondered if the hopeful tone he picked up was just his own wishful thinking.“If I’m lucky,” he replied, and hurried away before Finn could see the blush coloring his cheeks.”'Art school stormpilot and reyva auBased in part on the experiences of your illustrious author because art school is fucking wild, y'all





	1. Chapter 1

The camera battery was very inconveniently dying.

Poe figured he could probably get a few more photos in before he had to call it quits for the night. He was only a few away from the minimum required by the hardass photography professor, and he wasn’t having the best luck getting strangers to agree to be photographed. People in large cities usually assume if you’re stopping them on the street that you’re about to ask them for money in one way or another. He saw a man leaning against the exterior of a building, looking down at his phone.

“Excuse me,” Poe said as he approached. The young man looked up and Poe was quickly struck by just how handsome this stranger was. He swallowed down the abrupt spike of nerves and continued. “Hi! I’m in a street photography workshop and I was wondering if you’d let me take a quick photo of you?”

“Oh! Um, yeah, sure!” Handsome Stranger replied. He straightened and his face shifted into an easy smile. Not like the awkward, forced Cheshire grin most people pulled when faced with a camera. “Is this good?”

“That’s perfect, actually,” Poe said, pleasantly surprised, and snapped a few quick photos. He prepared to thank the man and walk away when he suddenly changed his pose. His jaw was now tilted up, fingers in an L shape over his chin in mock thoughtfulness. Though he did it as a joke, it looked good on him. Poe laughed and raised his camera again. He had expressive eyes, Poe couldn’t help but notice. The cool blue light cast by a nearby sign highlighted the angles of his face, contrasting against the warm brown tone of his skin. He went through a few more poses (Poe’s favorite including an exaggerated wink and finger guns) before the battery icon on the camera started blinking.

“My battery is seriously on it’s deathbed so I better go. Thanks so much, man,” Poe said with a smile.

“No, problem.” He settled back against the wall and held out his hand. “I’m Finn, by the way.”

“Poe, Poe Dameron.” He shook Finn’s hand and pointedly did not acknowledge the flip his stomach did at the touch.

“I’ll see you around, Poe Dameron?” he asked, and Poe wondered if the hopeful tone he picked up was just his own wishful thinking.

“If I’m lucky,” he replied, and hurried away before Finn could see the blush coloring his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Oh no he's hot" -Poe Dameron


	2. Chapter 2

Rey wished she could make the elevator move faster through sheer force of will. Why the three-dimensional design department had to be placed seventeen floors up, and why a building even needed that many floors in the first place was beyond the reach of her imagination. (The tallest building in the small, rural town she grew up in was barely three stories tall and even then it was considered a big deal. There was a commemorative plaque outside and everything.) She felt bad making Finn wait for her while she went to retrieve her sculpture, but she didn’t think she could carry the carefully formed mass of salvaged metalwork all the way back to the dorm without his help.

As she stood waiting for the elevator, heavy metal weighing down on her arms, she saw a tall, pale figure clad all in black approaching her, and suppressed a sigh of annoyance. Kylo Ren was composed entirely of opinions, swishy black clothes, and an over-inflated sense of self importance. Rey shifted slightly, attempting to hide her face behind the sculpture. She was not a particularly religious woman but in that moment she begged whatever higher power was listening to let her go unnoticed.

“Hello, Rey. Is that your piece for the next critique?” Rey nodded and said a silent “thanks for nothing” to the aforementioned higher power. “Hmm. If you ask me, I think it lacks ambition. These scavenged materials bring nothing original to your work. You’re so full of potential, you just need to learn how to channel it properly. My offer to tutor you still stands, you know.”

“I think I’m okay. Thanks,” Rey answered, looking straight ahead in hopes that if she couldn’t see him he’d go away. It didn’t work. She could still feel his eyes on her. Blissfully, blessedly, the elevator chimed.

“Think about it, Rey. I’ll see you in class,” Kylo said as the doors slid open, and he continued down the hall.

The only other occupant of the elevator, a dark-haired girl in an orange hoodie, stepped to the side to make room for Rey and her artwork.

“Yikes. That Kyle dude is a major creeper,” the girl said, watching Kylo’s retreating back through the closing doors. Rey nodded. The girl gestured at the metalwork. “Do you need help with that? That looks heavy as shit, dude.”

“Oh, thank God, yes.” The girl laughed and helped Rey hold up her sculpture.

“This thing is dope, by the way.” In the wake of Kylo’s guerilla critique and backhanded compliments, Rey glowed at the praise. She held back the urge to tell this girl all about the piece, the process, where she found the materials, the inspiration behind it. Rey had learned early that some people found being flooded with information like that off putting. Instead she simply smiled wide and said, “Thanks.”

The girl smiled back just as wide. “What’s your name?”

“Rey.”

“I’m Jess.” The elevator chimed and the girl, Jess, passed the sculpture back to into Rey’s arms as the doors slid open. She stepped out and waved goodbye to Rey with a little two-finger salute. “I’ll see ya, Rey of Sunshine.”

The doors slid closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Way to an art kid's heart: offer to carry their projects for them
> 
> I have an actual (albeit super trope-y) plot in mind for rey and jess but with poe and finn all I got rn is "they kiss n stuff, the end"
> 
> Also I'm new at this whole writing thing so this might be bad, idk. The chapters will probably be longer in the future but they're just lil baby chapters right now


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At a coffee shop because of course

The Resistance Coffee House was essentially bait for hipster college kids. It opened early, closed late, and was placed right in the middle of campus. Soy milk and soft indie music flowed freely. It supposedly got its name because the owners felt they were taking a stand against corporate coffee shops à la Starbucks. Finn felt this was a bit over dramatic but the coffee was good despite the cheesy name. He and Rey often went there for lunch on Saturdays such as this one.

“Yo, Rey!” came a voice, just as they had received their drinks and overpriced baked goods. He looked to the source of the voice, a pretty, dark-haired woman sitting in a booth and waving, then to Rey, who smiled wide and waved back. Rey had told him about the nice girl on the elevator who helped her hold her sculpture, and he assumed this girl was her. Jess, if he remembered right. Rey was typically somewhat hesitant to interact with people so Finn usually heard about it when she encountered someone who was nice to her. Jess motioned for them to come over.

Finn followed Rey over to the booth and suddenly found it hard to breath. Sitting across from Jess was the gorgeous photographer from the other night. The photographer who he had pulled increasingly goofy faces for in an attempt to stall for enough time to build up the courage to ask for his name. Who flirted with him (at least Finn thought he was flirting, hoped he was) and hurried off before Finn could remember how to speak. He looked up and Finn watched the recognition spread across his face. 

“Oh, hey! Fancy meeting you here.” 

“Hey, Poe, right?” Finn asked as though he didn’t remember. As though he hadn’t sketched his face as soon as he’d returned to his dorm that night, before he could forget the finer details. Finn unsuccessfully tried to tell himself it wasn’t weird if it was for art, and it honestly wasn’t just because Poe was pretty (though he definitely, definitely was). His features were just so interesting, the shape of those dark eyes, the square of his hairline, the furrow between his eyebrows. And the hair, oh, the hair. Rey slide into the booth next to her new friend, leaving Finn to sit next to Poe.

“You guys know each other?” Jess asked. She looked more closely at Finn’s face. “Oh, you’re the guy from those photos Poe keeps staring at!”

Poe sighed heavily and glared at her before turning to Finn. “I’m working on editing them for the midterm, she means. She just likes to embarrass me because she’s a horrible friend.” Jess nodded in agreement with a smirk. Finn thought he saw Poe blush and decided he liked the idea of Poe looking at him, just before reminding himself to rein in his weird crush on this almost-stranger.

Poe was introduced to Rey and Jess introduced to Finn. The four of them talked for a while. Finn learned that Poe and Jess are roommates and they live in a tiny apartment just off campus that tragically doesn’t allow dogs. They seemed fascinated when he told them he’d gone to a military high school, as their parents had been in the military when they were young. He learned that Jess was majoring in industrial design, which lead to a very animated discussion between her and Rey about power tools, and Finn promptly zoned out. His attention kept drifting back to Poe. He noticed something new every time he would sneak a glance. Crinkles around his eyes when he smiled. Chipped nail polish in a burnt orange color. A tendency to worry his bottom lip between his teeth absentmindedly. Finn knew he had a habit of becoming quickly infatuated with people. He remembered back when he first met Rey, how he harbored a brief crush on her before they really became friends. Now she was more like his long-lost sister.

“Hey, do you guys have plans tonight?” Jess asked, looking between Finn and Rey. “Because our friend Snap has this really terrible band--”

“They’re awful,” Poe interjected with a grin.

“They truly suck, but they’re playing a show at Maz’s Cantina tonight, and if you guys aren't busy later, and it’s totally cool if you are--"

“A shitty band shared is a shitty band halved?” Poe looked at Finn expectantly, hopefully, eyebrows raised, and Finn is nodding before he can remember to check in with Rey.

“I mean, I’m free at least. Rey?”

“Sure,” she said with a shrug. Jess beamed at her. “They can’t be that bad, can they?”

Jess looked sympathetic. “Oh, honey.”

Poe laughed and held his phone out to Finn. “I’ll text you the details?” Finn took the phone and typed in his number, thankful that he could keep his hands from shaking. _Pull yourself together, man_ , he thought to himself.

~ ~ ~

“Dameron, you gay disaster, are you gonna text him or just stare at his number?”

“Shush, Pava, I’m formulating the perfect text,” he replied, still glaring intensely at his phone. “This requires careful calculation.”

~ ~ ~

Finn received an address and time, followed by a sunglasses emoji and two thumbs up.


	4. Chapter 4

Jess would admit to being slightly prone to exaggeration, if pressed. However, there was no overstating Snap and the Squadron’s total lack of musical talent. Worse still, they were set to go on after a “post-industrial dark ambient noise band”. Jess wasn’t sure what that meant exactly but she knew she wasn’t looking forward to it. But Snap was one of the very first friends she made her freshman year and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to support him in his misguided musical endeavors. Jess prided herself on being a good friend. Loudly and usually when she needed something, but still.

She and Poe stood near the back of the venue, watching as people slowly filed in. They wore matching black t-shirts emblazoned with The Squadron’s logo screenprinted on in orange ink. Poe also happened to be wearing his coolest leather jacket and obsessively checking his phone, Jess couldn’t help but notice.

“Poe likes a booo-oy,” Jess sing-songed, elbowing him in the ribs.

“I am a grown man and I can admit when I like someone, Pava,” Poe replied before reaching over and flicking her ear.

“So much for being a grown man,” she said, batting his hand away. “And anyway, like I said earlier, you totally were just staring at those photos of him. ‘Editing’, my ass. I walked in and you acted like I caught you watching porn.”

“Untrue. Thanks for that public shaming in front of him though, that really helped my chances I’m sure.”

“All blushy and embarrassed. It was kind of adorable, lil’ baby Poe’s got a crush.”

“I’m a dedicated artist and was studying my works,” he defended.

“If by studying you mean gazing wistfully.” Poe rolled his eyes but seemed to give up trying to deny it.

“Let’s talk about this Rey girl instead. You think she’s cute, don’t you?”

“Of course she’s cute, Dameron, all women are beautiful, sublime creatures gifted from the heavens.”

“Whatever. Jess likes a giii-iirl,” Poe mimicked.

“You might be a grown man, but I’m not and I don’t have to admit to shit. And if I happen to have a thing for freckles and cute accents, well, that’s irrelevant.” Poe smiled smugly. Jess watched his gaze shift from her face to something behind her. She turned around and saw Rey approaching (mercifully far enough away to have been out of earshot of that last comment), smiling widely with Finn following closely behind. Jess quickly turned back to Poe. “This conversation never happened, agreed?”

“Your little crush is safe with me.”

Finn and Rey reached them before Jess could counter.

~

While none of the bands in the lineup were particularly well known, Maz’s was one of the most popular venues in town among college kids and free shows almost guaranteed a full house. So full that Jess found Rey pressed into her space, shoulder to shoulder. Rey didn’t seem to mind, she noted with some relief. Rey also seemed to smile and laugh at most of her jokes, many of which even Jess would admit were pretty bad. Maybe she was just being polite, but that smile was a such good reward that Jess didn’t care about looking a little bit stupid.

Finally, the overhead lights dimmed as the stage lights brightened. The noise band was opening, Jess remembers. Three figures emerged; a tall blond woman in a silvery leather jacket, a severe looking redhead all in black, and lastly a tall figure, face obscured by some kind of mask, strode to centerstage. The masked figure mumbled something into the microphone as the blonde woman began playing long, droning notes on her bass guitar.

“What did he say?” Finn asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to understand with the,” Poe gestured in front of his equally confused face. “Apparatus.” As the music began to pick up in tempo and volume, the man slowly reached up and began unfastening the mask. A bit melodramatic, Jess thought, but okay. He pulled the mask off and--

“Oh, shit,” Finn and Rey said almost in unison.

“Hey, it’s that Kyle guy,” Jess said, almost having to shout over the music now. Rey looks somewhere between angry and exasperated.

“He’s been offering to,” Rey held her fingers up in air quotes. “‘Tutor me’ for weeks.”

“Meaning he’s been trying to get in Rey’s pants for weeks,” Finn explained.

“Ew. Fuck that Daft Punk wannabe. Well, not fuck him like fuck him but fuck him. You know what I mean,” Jess said, gratified when Rey laughs. “Anyway, he’s kinda scrawny. I bet you could kick his ass.” So far Jess had done a pretty good job of not staring at Rey’s biceps but it was taking a lot of willpower. She noticed that next to her Poe was losing his version of that battle. She said nothing but made a mental note to make fun of him later.

Rey laughed dryly. “I’m considering it.”

Jess was right in her prediction that she wouldn’t like post-industrial dark ambient noise. None of the band seemed to be particularly enjoying themselves either. Even from this distance the redhead perpetually looked like he’d just bit into a sour lemon. Each song seemed to run into the next in a seemingly never-ending drone. Luckily the openers typically have the shortest set. The music ended and Kyle-- Kylo, apparently, but Jess didn’t really care-- donned his weird mask, mumbled something indiscernible into the mic and the trio walked offstage.

Twenty minutes later the lights dimmed again, and Poe and Jess erupted into cheers. Finn and Rey exchanged a glance before joining in. The lights focused on a bearded, guitar-toting man in an orange jumpsuit. He was followed by a few other jumpsuit clad individuals.

“How’s everyone feelin’ tonight?” Snap said into the mic. The crowd applauded.

“We love you!” Poe shouted, hands cupped around his mouth.

“I wanna have your babies!” Jess screamed.

“Me too!” Poe yelled.

Snap did a little bow. “Thanks guys.”

Jess leaned into Rey. “We’re kind of the best hype-men.” Snap counted down and the band launched into a loud, fast song that was almost entirely chorus. While it was by no means good, it was fun and energetic. A circle of people in the middle of the floor began dancing, as best as they could in a dense crowd. Jess always imagined that if you played three Flaming Lips songs on top of each other it would sound a bit like Snap and the Squadron. She looked over at Rey, whose head was bobbing slightly along to the music. She seemed to be watching the crowd, lively and undulating, more than the band. She wore a small smile.

“Do you wanna dance?” Jess nearly had to shout it in her ear. 

Rey looked flustered. “I don’t really know how!” 

“Ha! Neither do they,” Jess said, gesturing to the dancers in front of them. She held out her hand. “Let’s show these clowns how it’s done!”

Rey only hesitated for moment before taking her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did y'all know Daisy Ridley is like hella buff?? God bless
> 
> Also these chapters get longer each time so either I'm sorry or you're welcome depending on your preferences, I don't know your life


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe is a totally un-suave dork and cute boys fluster him, fight me on this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to spellcheck

This had to be Poe’s quickest crush on record (excluding his childhood infatuation with Harrison Ford but everyone had one of those, let’s be honest). He felt almost personally affronted by how pretty Finn was. It was unreasonable. He loved his friend Snap and the shitty band he led but he couldn’t be bothered to focus on the show when he had someone so lovely and interesting standing so, so close to him. Finn was turning out to be immensely distracting. Poe watched his eyebrows raise up as he watched Rey follow Jess into the mass of dancing people.

“You look surprised,” Poe said, leaning towards Finn so as to be heard more clearly.

“Yeah, I didn’t think I’d ever see Rey dance. That’s not really her thing.” To be fair, she was mainly just trying to mirror Jess’s movements while avoiding being crushed by the surrounding people. “Good for her.”

“So are you guys, like, a thing?” Poe asked, as casually as he could manage.

“Me and Rey? No, we’re friends. And Rey doesn’t date anyway. Says she’s never wanted to.”

“I’ll have to break the news to Jess that her feminine-ish wiles won’t work, then.” He watched her try to twirl Rey. The motion was awkward with the two of them being buffeted around by the crowd but they both seemed to be enjoying themselves. He wondered for a moment if he should ask Finn to dance with him but ultimately decided against it.

“What about you?” Poe hoped his tone of voice conveyed a noncommittal curiosity, but most likely came out like a wavering croak. Fuck.

“What about me what?” Finn asked with a tilt of his head, like a fucking adorable confused puppy. Fuck fuck fuck.

“Do you? Date, I mean. Do you date, that is. Not that it’s my business, y’know, just met you and all, just sorta wondering, y’know, if you-- whether you-- yeah, just wondering.” In that moment, Poe prayed for a sudden and instantaneous death. He hoped the colorful stage lights hid the red of his face. He hadn’t expected blushing to become a recurring problem in his life but, well, there it is. A slow smile spread across Finn's face, and Poe felt the urge to curl up in the warmth of that smile like a cat napping in a sunbeam.

“I mean, not at the moment, but I’m amenable.” He gave a small shrug. "To the right gentleman/woman/or otherwise caller."

“Nice. Cool,” Poe said, trying to calm himself in the most chill, nonchalant way possible and failing. “Cool, cool.”

Finn nodded, warm smile shifting into a smirk. “Cool.” 

Snap’s voice, a voice Poe had never been so glad to hear, cut him off before he could embarrass himself further. “We are Snap and the Squadron! I’ve been Snap, they’ve been the Squadron! You guys have been great. Thank you, goodnight!” The house lights flicked back to life and people began to file out of the room.

“Hey,” Finn turned to Poe. “I think I might know a guy who can score me a Squadron t-shirt.”

“Oh, do ya?” Poe laughed. “Do I know him?”

“Yeah, I think you might,” Finn said, tapping the logo on the center of Poe’s chest.

“I see how it is, using me for free merch. You better know what size Rey wears too, then.”

~

They met up with Jess and Rey at the bus stop outside, t-shirts in hand. The only men’s shirts left in stock were a size smaller than Finn prefered but he said he’d take one anyway. He hadn’t put it on but the mental image alone was enough to make Poe tell himself to think about literally anything else. He’d only just recovered from his previous awkward ramblings and didn’t need a second round. Rey slipped hers on overtop the shirt she already wore. Poe shrugged out of his leather jacket to better show off his own t-shirt. He and Jess gestured to the orange print on their chests to passersby, despite most of them giving them weird looks. They took their roles as hypemen (hype-persons?) very seriously.

“You guys were right. They were… not great.” Finn said with a smile. He sat between Rey and Poe on the bus stop bench.

“Yeah, sorry to put you through that,” Poe said with a somewhat embarrassed laugh. He was a little hyperconscious of the way his leg was pressed against Finn's, sitting next to each other like this.

Finn laughed too. “No, no, don’t apologize! I had a great time.”

“Yeah?” He bumped his shoulder softly against Finn’s. “I’m glad, buddy.”

"Cool, cool," Finn said as he bumped back. Poe had to look down at his shoes because again with the fucking blushing. He was a junior in college, not a sixth grader, he reminded himself. Jess coughed and Poe couldn’t help but notice that it sounded suspiciously like the word “gay”. Their bus arrived first and they stood, saying their goodbyes to Finn and Rey. The two of them waved as the bus drove off.

“You are horribly unsubtle, loverboy,” Jess said with an exaggerated flutter of her eyelashes.

“What about you, Dancing Queen? You put the literal moves on her.”

“Hey, only one of us here is a queen and it’s definitely you.”

“...Fair enough.”

“Also, where’s your jacket?” Poe looked around his seat but it was nowhere to be seen.

“Shit,” he sighed. “I liked that jacket.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, unrelated to this chapter mostly but I imagine modern!Jess with a sort of soft butch Ellen Page-y fashion sense, y'all feel me on this one? Also she has literally one line in the whole goddamn movie, why am I attached to this character??? And why am I so 150% sure that she's a lesbian??????? Why


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cliches ahoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally only work on this when I'm supposed to be writing essays

"So are you surviving your first midterms?" Jess asked, looking at Rey from over a large cup of chocolate-drizzled-mocha-espresso-something or other. They sat across from each other in a booth at The Resistance. It had been about a week since the concert and Rey couldn't remember a time when she'd had more fun. She didn't exactly have an active social life before college. So when Jess texted to invite her to coffee, she may or may not have replied to accept embarrassingly quickly.

"I ate half a bag of Chex mix for dinner last night, if that tells you anything," Rey replied.

Jess absentmindedly doodled geometric patterns on a napkin as she listens. "Nice. Been there."

"I spent all day yesterday trying to find materials for a found object assignment. Finn helped, but I think he was using it as an excuse to procrastinate on his painting. And Skywalker's got me making two separate pieces--"

Jess nearly choked on her coffee. “Wait, wait, Luke Skywalker? You got into Skywalker’s class? I’ve been trying every semester to get into literally any of his classes but they’re always full!”

“Yeah, I hear he’s pretty popular.”

“The man’s a fucking genius. I go to all of his gallery showings if I can.”

Rey giggled a bit at her unabashed geeking. It was weirdly endearing. “He’s kind of a hippy. He keeps telling me to center myself, feel the universe’s energy around me. We spend the first five minutes of every class meditating. People fall asleep sometimes but I don’t think he notices.”

“That's so fucking cool,” Jess said, just above an awed whisper.

"I'll see if I can put in a good word for you." At that, Jess reached across the small table to place both of her hands on Rey's shoulders. Rey allows it.

"If you say my name in front of Luke Skywalker I will literally give you my firstborn child."

"How about you buy the coffee next time and we call it even?"

Jess smiled. "You got yourself a deal, Miss Rey." Something about Jess's smiles made Rey feel as though she'd been let in on an inside joke. But suddenly that smile fell as Jess looked off over Rey's shoulder. "Don't look now but your boyfriend's here."

Rey didn't even need to turn around to know who she was talking about, but she did anyway. Kylo strode into the coffee shop, long black coat swishing in the wind of the open door like melodrama personified. That boy had a talent for bad timing but he hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet. Rey folded her arms on top of the tabletop and dropped her head down onto them with a little whine of frustration. She felt Jess give her head a conciliatory pat. At least she had a few more minutes uninterrupted as he ordered his coffee, she figured.

"You could lie and tell him you have a boyfriend," Jess suggested. "He might leave you alone then."

Rey raised her head, still hoping Kylo wouldn't see her. "I can't, I already told him that I don't before I realized why he was asking."

"Oof. Bummer. You could tell him you're a lesbian. That works sometimes," she says with a dry laugh.

"Only sometimes?"

"Yeah, hetero male entitlement's a sonovabitch."

"Gross."

"Gross, indeed." Jess shook her head sadly. "Gross, indeed. Speaking of which, here comes your man." She snorted at Rey's responding look of disgust.

Suddenly all six-foot-something of Kylo was standing over their booth, a very large black coffee in hand. "Hello, Rey."

"Hi, Kylo," she replied flatly, resigned to the grim fate of another conversation with Kylo Ren. He didn't even acknowledge Jessika. What an asshole. Rey shot her a glance and before she even knew what hit her an idea struck and she was reaching out to take Jess's hand. "Kylo, have you met my girlfriend?"

"Oh..." His eyebrows knit together in what looks like confusion, eyes darting between the two of them. Jess wore a similar expression. "I see."

Jess's surprise was not quite so thinly veiled that Kylo questioned anything, but Rey knew she'd caught her off guard. Understandable, as she'd even startled herself. She wasn't usually much of a hand-holder. At all. Jess recovered from her surprise enough to tear her eyes away from Rey and look up at Kylo with a sociable smile. "What's up, man? I'm Jess." He responded with only a curt nod in her direction. Rey felt a thumb rub slowly over her knuckles and found it strangely comforting.

"I'll just... leave you two to it then," he muttered, looking slightly red in the face, before making a hasty exit. The bell on the door jingles behind him.

Once Kylo was safely out of the building and out of sight, Jess freed her hand from Rey's grasp and raised it for a high-five. "Dude, nice."

"I can't believe that worked," Rey laughed. She didn't think anything would make him shrink away like that. "Was that okay though?"

"What do you mean?"

"With you. Was it okay with you? Calling you my girlfriend."

"I've been called worse," she said with a shrug. "I mean, I didn't see that coming but it's cool."

"I still probably shouldn't have done that without asking. I wouldn't want to cramp your style. Don't want the ladies thinking you're tied down." Rey was mostly joking, but she genuinely didn't want to do anything make Jess uncomfortable. She only had so many friendships. Scaring Jess off was the last thing she wanted to do.

Jess snorts. "I don't really have much of a style to be cramped, but I appreciate the thought. And if it keeps you from getting negged by an emo kid, I'd almost say it's my chivalrous duty."

"My knight in shining flannel." She laughed as Jess attempted a courtly bow while seated in a booth. "We can keep this up then, if he comes around again? At least until he, hopefully, completely loses interest in me?"

"Fake date you to protect your honor? I've real dated people for more questionable reasons." Rey decided not to ask.

~ ~ ~

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Jessika defended. She lay sprawled across her and Poe's couch with her legs across his lap.

"Posing as the girlfriend of the not-gay person you have a big gay crush on? Yeah, excellent idea," Poe countered. "Totally not masochistic at all."

She sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know. But if there's one thing I'm good at, Dameron, it's burying emotions. I went to Catholic school. Repression is my specialty."

"That sounds healthy."

"Just like how I stopped being hurt by your sarcasm years ago. Buried that shit down deep." She gave a soft kick to his torso. "Anyway, it's for a good cause. And she was so happy to be rid of the guy! She was all smiley and adorable and she was just so--"

She was cut off by the sound of Poe loudly pretending to vomit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey in this fic is basically this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwWEGQ2kK6A


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Poe says the line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how bout that trailer

Finn walked into his 9:00 am painting class at 9:02, slightly frazzled from rushing from his dorm with his arms full of painting supplies, earning a stern look from Professor Solo. But he looked at everyone that way, Finn reminded himself. As the door shut behind Finn, Solo informed the class that this would be their last week with a clothed model, and instructed them to show up next week ready to not be weird about it.

As the last person to show up, Finn ended up closest to the model stand. He dragged all of his stuff and an easel over, doing his best not to crowd the model's space before they even arrived. Solo's TA, a huge, stoic guy with an unkempt beard, muscled past Finn to begin arranging lights around the raised platform. Finn was secretly kind of terrified of him.

By then most of the class was settled, supplies out and earbuds in, ready to tune out and just paint for a few hours. The only thing left before they began was the model. Solo looked down at his watch. "None of you kids know how the meaning of the word 'punctuality', do ya?" He threw Finn another pointed look. Just then, the door swung open and Finn's heart tripped over itself as in walked a familiar face. Solo turned. "You're late, Dameron."

"Sorry, I know, I'm sorry," Poe said. "They were doing maintenance on the L and--"

Solo held up a hand in a clear "shut up" gesture and pointed to the chair on the raised stand, grumbling something about not dealing with any more of Leia's favorites. The TA grunted his agreement. Poe's eyes met Finn's as he stepped up onto the platform.

"Finn!" Poe greeted him with a bright grin. Solo directed him to sit forward in the chair with his side facing Finn, giving him a good view of his profile. "You didn't tell me you were a painter."

Finn raised his pencil to the canvas and began loosely sketching Poe's silhouette. "I like to keep 'em guessing."

"Sure, you're a real man of mystery," Poe laughed. Finn jotted down a few quick marks to indicate the smile lines around his eyes.

"It's only fair since you didn't tell me you sit for painting classes." He moves on to mixing the tones of Poe's skin; ochre, cadmium, burnt umber, a little bit of titanium for highlights.

"Then we're both full of surprises."

Finn was struck suddenly by a thought. "Are you going to, uh... Do you do this later in the semester?" he asked, attempting to get an answer without flat out asking _Am I gonna have to paint you naked in front of all these people?_ He heard Solo's voice echo in his head reminding him not to be weird about it. A different voice, much more his own, wondered if Poe would let him paint him in private instead.

“Nah, I only do this for the first half of the term before I get too busy with my own classes. Gets me a little extra money, a bit of an ego boost. This is probably the last one for a while, I think.”

Finn only nodded in understanding. He didn’t trust his voice to stay neutral if he spoke. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. A few minutes of oddly comfortable silence passed as Finn focused in on his work. It wasn't too difficult. Poe was hard to look away from.

“Cool jacket, by the way,” Poe said casually. Finn, however, felt a decidedly un-casual surge of embarrassment. He'd completely forgotten he was wearing it. He figured since Poe left it there at the bus stop on accident, then he might as well rescue it and give it back next time he saw him. But he got cold. And it was really a nice jacket. And also maybe it might have smelled really nice, but Finn figured he'd just keep that to himself. But Poe seeing him wearing it? You don't just take a guy's jacket and wear it around. Finn didn't know much about being a bro but he was pretty sure that's not what bros do.

“Thanks,” he manages, somehow keeping his voice even. _Be cool, be cool._ “Yeah, I found it at the bus stop. Can you believe some dude just left it laying there?”

“Yeah? Wow, that guy must be such a dumbass,” Poe said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“I bet he's actually pretty cool." Finn found he didn't bring a brush fine enough for Poe's eyelashes. "I’ll give it back to you on the next break. Sorry for kinda-sorta stealing it."

“No, you keep it. It suits you.” He worried at his lip with his teeth. “I mean, if you want. You don't have to. But finders, keepers, right?"

Finn was grateful Poe wasn't looking right at him to see the embarassingly wide smile he can't quite keep down. That cemented it; Poe was definitely at least a somewhat into him. He thought about texting Rey to tell her she was right, as always. "It _is_ a pretty nice jacket."

Solo appeared behind Poe and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Kid, we don't pay you to flirt with the painters."

Poe looked more than a little mortified. Finn smirked as he added a bit of alizarin crimson to his painting's cheeks.

~

A few hours passed and Solo called for the end of class. Most of Finn's classmates thanked Poe, to which he responded with an easy smile and a "no problem". A girl or two giggled. He didn't even seem to notice, which Finn found hilarious. As people began lining up at the sinks to clean their brushes, Poe stood and stretched before making his way around the room to see everyone's take on his image. He arrived at Finn's last.

"Wow." He bumped his fist against Finn's shoulder. "You're a good painter, Finn." He accepted the compliment, though he clearly saw many more flaws in his work than Poe did. The nose shape was off, the skin tone was just slightly too yellow, and Finn couldn't even imagine a universe in which he could do that hair justice. His self-critique was interrupted when Poe leaned in ever so slightly and said in a low voice, "That guy over there made me look like a muppet."

Finn attempted to hide his laugh behind his hand. Maybe it was all the paint thinner fumes in the room making him feel bolder, but fuck it, he was gonna go for it. "What are you doing after this?"

Poe looked up from inspecting Finn's work. "Honest answer? Watching The X-Files with Jess. Dishonest answer? Something cool and interesting and impressive."

Finn took a deep breath. "Would it ruin your friendship if you got lunch with me instead?"

"Yeah, totally! I mean, not like 'yeah, totally it would ruin our friendship', I mean yeah, totally to lunch. With you. But yeah, I, um... I actually think she'd be angrier at me if I didn't. Go to lunch with you that is. Gives her more alone time with Gillian Anderson, anyway."

 _Good lord, he's adorable_ , Finn thought.

Han Solo, however, thought they should move this shit to someone else's classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A personal story: I saw one of our nude models outside of class once and it was strange because he was 1.) clothed, 2.) wearing those weird toes shoes?? The ones that are like gloves for your feet, you know? You feel me? And seeing that made me more uncomfortable than seeing his dick. Why are those shoes a thing. I don't like them. This concludes my story, thank you for your time


	8. Chapter 8

Despite being a first year freshman with no seniority, Rey had managed to snag a single room, to Jessika's utter bafflement. It was like Rey had some kind of superpower for circumventing college bureaucracy. Rey had also never seen Mystery Science Theater 3000, a problem Jess was determined to remedy. Hence why she was making her way up to Rey's dorm, laptop in her bag with Netflix already queued up. She refrained from any obvious Netflix and chill jokes.

Jess reached Rey's door, the final in a long hallway, and knocked. Rey answered the door in pajamas, hair loose around her shoulders.

"No need to get all dressed up for little ol' me." Jess teased.

Rey visibly fought down a smile. "I will slam this door in your face."

But she didn't, for which Jess was grateful. The room was sparsely decorated, save for a row of various potted plants lining the windowsill and a pencil sketch of Rey taped to the wall above her desk. A closer look revealed a small arrow labeled "nerd :p" pointing to the drawing's face. Jess felt it safe to assume it was from Finn. Seemingly random piles of clutter dot the space; pieces of eventual sculptures, no doubt organized exactly how Rey wants them. She was a strange mix of messy and methodical.

"You know, I've never seen you with your hair down before."

"I was just about to put it back up," Rey said, tugging a hair tie off of her wrist. She sat down on the floor, leaning back against her bed.

"You should let me braid it," Jess suggested, instantly feeling embarrassed but deciding to lean into it. She added in an exaggerated valley girl accent, "We can be cliche twinsie sleepover girls."

Rey hesitated for a brief moment. "Sure. Why not?" She wrapped the hair tie around her thumb and finger and shot it at Jess, who tried to catch it in midair and failed spectacularly.

Jess set her laptop down in front of Rey and took a seat on the edge of the bed behind her as the theme song began. "We'll send him cheesy movies, the worst we can find..."

"La la la," Jess's mouth finished without her brain's consent.

Rey snorted. "Dork."

"Don't bully me." Jess brushed the hair back away from Rey's face, combing through it with her fingers. She adds "soft hair" to the catalogue of nice things about Rey. Not that she has an actual list. But if she did, that would be on it. She spent the next few minutes gathering and weaving long strands together, fingers stroking along her scalp until Rey sighed. At that, Jess paused her hands. "You good?"

"Yeah, this is... actually really nice." Rey said, her eyes closed and her head tilted back into Jess's hands.

"Oh." Taking that as a nudge to continue, Jess does. "Has anyone ever done this for you before?"

"No," Rey answered, confirming Jess's suspicion. She turned a bit red under her freckles. "I've never really done the 'cliche sleepover girls' thing. I, um, spent a lot of time alone growing up. I was kind of a weird kid, you could say."

Jess imagined a tiny version of the girl in front of her, quiet, lonely, putting her own hair up with habitual ease. Occupying herself with making things, collecting, assembling. Loneliness tends to breed creativity, something Rey had in abundance. "I like your particular brand of weird. If that means anything."

Rey tipped her head far enough back to look at Jess, the back of her head resting against her knee. Her smile, while slightly softer than usual, was just as affecting from upside down. "It does."

"Good." Jess felt like something in her chest was inflating like a balloon, taking up all the space where her lungs ought to be. Which was... slightly worrisome.

Rey's eyes returned back to the screen, where robot shenanigans were taking place. "I don't understand any of these references."

"Dude, nobody does."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 11:59 on May the 4th as I'm typing this. Still counts! Happy star wars day y'all


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A snippet of that lunch date set up in the last chapter with the boys

“Are you gonna judge me horribly if I use a fork?” Finn asked from behind a bowl of noodles. He still had stray paint stains dotting his hands and forearms, and the jacket was draped across the back of his chair. Poe wasn't really sure if this was a date or not. It felt like it when Finn first invited him out, but now he wasn't certain and and he’d frankly rather die of a sudden and unexpected heart attack than ask directly. _Poor Poe_ , they'd say. _He died so young. So tragic._ Meanwhile, Poe's ghost would just be pleased to not have to deal with possible awkward rejection.

“You’re telling me those painter hands can’t use chopsticks?” he asked instead, gently teasing.

"These painter hands never learned how," Finn answered and started to unwrap his plastic silverware, before Poe plucked it out of his grasp and replaced it with two wooden chopsticks. Finn added with a laugh, "But I guess now they're going to."

"Like this," Poe said, picking up a piece of chicken from his plate in demonstration. Finn tried unsuccessfully to replicate.

"I don't know if I'm cut out for the chopstick life."

"Nah, I believe in ya, buddy. Here," Poe started, reaching out to rearrange the position of Finn's fingers. He did so silently, not trusting himself to speak and keep from becoming the blushing, sputtering mess he tended to be and embarrassing himself spectacularly on this Schrödinger's maybe-not-a-date. He felt Finn's eyes on his face and figured he might lose that battle before he relinquished his hand. "There, give that another shot."

Finn managed to grab a few noodles and hold them up for a moment before they slid off again. "Man, I had it for a second! Did you see that?" He turned to Poe with a smile so bright and it was so excruciatingly cute that Poe couldn't help but bite his lip against a grin. He wished he had his camera and the built in excuse it gave him to look for just a moment longer.

"I saw it. Here, I'll put you out of your misery." He returned Finn's plastic fork. "You get an A for effort, buddy."

"Good enough, I'll take it," Finn said, then proceeded to eat his noodles like spaghetti. "Thanks for attempting to teach me."

"'Attempting' being the operative word here," Poe said, gesturing towards the discarded chopsticks.

"You get an A for effort," Finn echoed with a shrug. _Just ask him, Dameron, you fucking big gay loser_ , Poe berated himself. Either the date-cat was dead or it wasn't and he had to open the box to find out. He was starting to lose track of this metaphor.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" At Finn's slightly raised eyebrow and nod, he continued, trying his damnedest to stay casual. "Do you take all of your life study models out to Chinese food?" Not quite direct (at all) but better than nothing.

Finn laughed softly. "Only if they take photos of me being a dork in the street and bring me to their friends' concerts beforehand."

"So I take it not too many then?"

Finn shook his head with a small, almost shy smile. "I guess I have an oddly specific type."

Poe thought that heart attack may have been coming for him right then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya boi just finished her first year of college so maybe now i'll have more time to write this. Also idk if this is boring i just wanted to write "finn + poe have a nice chill time together and neither of them knows if it counts as a date"


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a filler tbh but the next chapter will be at least kind of interesting, I promise. Follow me on Rey's journey of gay awakening, away we goooooooo

"Hold this," Rey said, dropping a chunk of gnarled wood down from where she stands on a step ladder. The piece she was working on was taller than her and she couldn't reach the top from the ground.

"Yes, ma'am," Jess answered, catching it. She had volunteered earlier that day to help Rey finish her sculpture assignment, assuring her that she really didn't have anything better to do, and it was now well into the night. Everyone else in the student studio had finished up and left, leaving the two of them with the whole space to themselves. "Do you think this counts as an internship? Can I get a credit out of this?"

"It's definitely unpaid at least. Hand me that hammer."

"You pay me with your delightful company, bossy-pants," Jess deadpanned over the sound of metal hitting metal, but Rey found herself hoping that she actually meant it underneath the sarcasm. "And with an excuse to leave the apartment. When I left, Dameron was FaceTiming his family's dog and I honestly can not handle that level of dork right now."

"Then you've come to the wrong place," Rey said around the nail she held between her teeth.

Jess smiled. "True, but you two are different genres of dork. And I'll admit, it is a pretty fucking cute dog. I'm probably just bitter because I wasn't allowed to have pets as a kid."

"Not even a goldfish?"

"Not even a goldfish," Jess confirmed solemnly.

"Speaking of Poe, don't tell him but Finn likes him a lot," Rey said, knowing Finn would forgive her a little bit of good-natured gossip. She held out her hand. "Staple gun."

"Staple gun," Jess repeated as she passed it up. "Well, that's good because Poe wants Finn to dick him into next week."

That startled a laugh out of Rey that echoed through the large room and made her pause her stapling. "He really said that?"

"Not in so many words, but it was implied. He said it with his eyes, y'know? But don't tell Finn that, obviously." She paused, seeming to think for a moment. "Actually, you know what? Do tell him. I'm done with all this pining shit."

"It's a little bit insufferable," Rey admitted. "If you like somebody why not tell them, right?"

"...Right," Jess agreed quietly. "So, on the topic of pining, is the goth fuckboy still giving you trouble?"

"I actually had class with him yesterday. He asked me how my girlfriend is."

Her brow furrowed. "Oh. Well, that's... nice of him? I guess?"

"Not really, I think he was just hoping I'd say we'd broken up. He didn't ask in an 'I genuinely care about the answer' sort of way." In fact, he said the word "girlfriend" like it was physically difficult for him, which Rey found slightly offensive even though it was all pretend.

"Ah. What did you tell him?"

"I," Rey started and laughed a nervous laugh that she hoped didn't sound as awkward to Jess as it did to her. "I kind of just started telling him about how cool you are and he got all awkward. Is it bad that I enjoyed being the one to make _him_ feel uncomfortable for a change?"

"Maybe, but I say right on, man." She reached up for a fist bump. "And feel free to tell people about my greatness as a defense mechanism whenever you like."

"Will do." She didn't mention that that conversation with Kylo had turned into something of a lecture on all things Jessika. Rey was pretty sure that was what people in relationships did; brag about each other. So brag she did. And it was surprisingly easy. Jess had a lot of brag-worthy qualities. She was sweet and fun and offered to help work on massive sculptures late into the night for nothing in return. And she was obviously very pretty, of course. It was surprising that she didn't have a real girlfriend, Rey thought, though something in her stomach turned at the idea. Maybe she was just taking this fake-dating act a bit too seriously, getting too in character. She didn't know what to say next, so she just extended her hand and said, "Screwdriver?"

"Say please," Jess said, holding it just out of Rey's reach. 

Rey rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Screwdriver, please?"

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What's Rey building, failedcharismacheck?" you may be be asking. You sweet curious flower, you. I have no idea because I'm a painting major and I know fuck all about sculpture. "Then why did you decide to write a sculptor character?" you may then ask, because you're an inquisitive soul. Again, I major in painting, not writing.  
> Also poe's dog is supposed to be bb8 if you hadn't picked up on that


	11. Chapter 11

The shutters of Poe's camera clicked as he snapped another photo. He was ostensibly here in Finn's dorm room to study, as they had discovered they were in different classes of the same art history course. They only managed to actually talk about the Romanesque Period for about 5 minutes before the conversation strayed and the camera somehow found its' way out of Poe's bag. Suddenly two hours had passed and Finn knew nothing more about art history than he did before but Poe had a whole series of new pictures of him laughing with a textbook in his lap, open and ignored.

Poe clicked through his photos, turning towards Finn to show him. He landed on one where Finn happened to blink at exactly the wrong time. "Nice. The General's gonna love that one."

"The General?" Finn asked, after giving Poe a gentle shove.

"My photography professor. She's kind of a hardass so that's what we call her. I'm actually kind of surprised you don't know her, since she's married to Solo."

"Oh, you mean Leia! Yeah, I know Leia. Well, I know _of_ her. They're kind of an odd couple, aren't they?"

Poe laughed. "Oh, yeah. Definitely. And she told me you're his favorite in your class."

"He said that?" Finn asked, incredulous. He figured the opposite, with as much as Solo picked on him. Maybe it was some kind of attempt at tough love. Belatedly, it occurred to him, "You talked to Leia about me?"

"Um, yeah, she was asking who the guy in my photos was and I guess she recognized your name."

"Huh." Finn supposed this knowledge would probably make Solo's grumpy old guy demeanor easier to weather.

Poe looked down at his phone and sighed. "I should probably go. I have an essay on Kantian aesthetics that I need to finish by midnight."

"Fun. What does that even mean?" Finn asked. He laughed at Poe's animated shrug.

"I'm kind of winging it, honestly. But I _Kant_ wait for it to be over with," he said and ignored Finn's answering groan at the pun. He stood, shoved his things back into his bag, and made his way towards the door, Finn following behind. "You're walking me the ten feet to the door?"

Finn shrugged one shoulder as he watched Poe tug on his jacket. Not as cool as the one he gave to Finn, but still pretty cool. He could probably wear a plastic bag and make it look cool, in Finn's opinion. "I'm polite like that."

"What a gentleman. Next thing I know you'll be kissing me goodnight on my way out." Finn watched slow mortification push the smile off Poe's face. "I'm sorry, that was probably a super weird thing to say. I get too comfortable sometimes and say shit without thinking and--"

"Do you want me to?" Finn interrupted.

"I-- Do I-- What?"

"Do you want me to?" he repeated. "Kiss you goodnight, that is." _Please say yes, please say yes._

"Um, if- I mean, if you want to, I-" Finn took a step closer and Poe sucked in a hard breath, then nodded firmly. "Yeah. Yes."

So with that permission Finn stepped the rest of the way into Poe's space, took his face in his hands, and kissed him. Poe's somehow perpetually stubbled cheek felt rough under his fingers and he sighed happily into the kiss. He'd spent quite a bit of time thinking about that stubble, lately. Poe's hand rested on his neck where Finn was sure he could probably feel his nervous pulse hammering. Poe leaned back against the door as his other hand fisted in the back of Finn's shirt.

Finn was almost overwhelmed with how _good_ it all felt. It wasn't his first kiss but it felt like the first one that would matter. Finally, they came up for air and Finn touched his forehead to Poe's, maybe a bit more worked up than he ought to be. "Okay," he breathed into the air between them, eyes still closed. "Calm down."

Poe huffed out a laugh, a hot puff of air against Finn's cheek. "I'm trying."

"I was talking to myself." He opens his eyes to see Poe grinning widely at him.

"That's adorable. You're adorable. Been meaning to tell you that."

"Glad you got around to it," Finn said, and Poe pulled him in again to kiss the sarcasm from his lips.

"Good night, Finn."

Even as they let go of each other, Finn couldn't stop smiling and it seemed Poe was having the same problem. "Good night, Poe"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bit about Poe having an essay on Kant and not knowing what the fuck he's talking about is autobiographical.  
> Also hey!! They kissed! Woo! Smoochin'!!! And I just wanna say a general thank you to everybody that's been nice enough to leave nice comments to far, thanks yall


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen, when I said slow burn I fuckin meant it. This shit is gonna marinate in a week long salt brine before it even cooks so get ready for some pining, kids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I'm typing this, this fic has 69 subscriptions ayyyyy (it's funny cuz that's the sex number also thanks, those 69 people

"You have thoroughly kicked my ass," Jess said, tossing aside her Wii remote in defeat. Rey's Donkey Kong gloats above Jess's sad Toad. "I don't believe that you've never played Mario Kart before. I think you're telling me lies. You come into my home and tell me lies."

"What can I say, I'm gifted," Rey said, flicking her hair over her shoulder confidently. That fact that she wore it down that day and it looked so distractingly pretty did nothing to help Jessika's Mario Kart performance. She was finding it more and more difficult to not notice these things. She caught herself trying to count her freckles earlier, which was frankly just embarrassing.

"Oh! I completely forgot! I brought you something." Rey said, going to grab her bag. "It's not much but it's a thank you for helping me with my project the other night."

"I'd say you don't have to do that, but I love presents so..." She reached out with a grabby hands motion. "Gimme." Rey carefully pulled out a tiny potted plant. It looked like a cross between a pine cone and a bunch of grapes.

"It's called a burro's tail. This one budded off of one of the ones I keep by my window," Rey said, almost looking something akin to nervous. "You said you never had a pet and you seemed sad about it and I know a plant isn't the same but you take care of them and some people like to name them and that's sort of like a pet but really low maintenance and I thought you might like it, so..."

"Aw, I love it. I'll name it Jeremy." She stood and walked into the kitchen, separated from the living room only by a counter cluttered with dirty dishes (as she and Poe were in the midst of a long and heated debate about whose turn it was to wash them), and began clearing a spot on the small windowsill over the sink for the plant to live in.

"Why Jeremy?" asked Rey, who turned around on the couch to watch.

"Lil' dude just looks like a Jeremy," Jess called back over her shoulder. She noticed some carving toward the bottom of the small terra cotta planter and lifted it up to inspect it. _For J, from R._ Jess felt her heart start to run laps around her ribcage. "Did you make this pot?"

"I'm taking a ceramics elective," Rey said by way of an answer.

"You're literally the sweetest person I have ever met in all of my years of existence on this Earth." She set Jeremy down and gave it an appropriately tiny amount of water.

Rey laughed. "Don't tell anyone. It'll ruin my bad-boy image."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Jess returned to flop back down on the couch.

Rey's smile left her face to make room for a yawn. "Sorry. Kinda tired. I'm not looking forward to the walk home."

"You can crash here tonight if you want. The Pava-Dameron couch is always available to weary travelers."

"I would but I have to be up early tomorrow to meet my academic advisor." She checked the time. "I should probably leave now, actually."

"I can give you a ride home, then," she offered.

"You have a car?"

"Well, I have a bike. But we can both fit as long as you aren't driven wild with passion by holding onto me. I have that effect on women," she warned. A little joke-flirting never hurt anyone as long as it was clearly a joke, right?

"Oh, do you now?" Rey said with that amused-but-pretending-to-be-annoyed half smile Jess earned so often. She stood and shouldered her bag. "Important question; are we talking pedal bike or motorcycle here?"

"Do I look like I'm cool enough, and more importantly, have the money, to own a motorcycle?" She gestured up and down her body at her general everything as she grabbed her keys off the kitchen table.

Rey shrugged one shoulder. "I think you look pretty cool, but what do I know."

"You're sweet," she said for the second time that night. "Glad someone thinks so. But no, I'm talking bicycle. That still okay?"

"You could offer to carry me while riding a skateboard back to my building and I'd accept if it meant a didn't have to walk."

Jess laughed as she led them out the front door. "I don't have the upper body strength for that."

As the door closed behind them, the neighbors from across the hall came up the stairs. "Hello, Jessika, Jessika's new lady friend," Chirrut greeted them cheerfully, Baze following close behind with a hand on his husband's elbow.

"How does he do that?" Jess whispered. She cleared her throat. "Hi, Chirrut. This is Rey, she's not my lady friend. Rey, this is Baze and Chirrut, my wacky sitcom neighbors."

"She is a lady, and your friend. Lady friend. That was all I meant, of course," he said with an unsubtle wink in Jess's direction. He poked at her teasingly with his cane. "Nice to meet you, Miss Rey. It's been a while since Jessika brought a nice girl home." Baze stood behind him, smiling faintly and being unhelpful. Jess shot him a pleading look, to which he only shrugged uselessly. She suspected that the long-suffering husband act was just to cover up how much he actually enjoyed Chirrut's antics.

"Nice to meet you, too," Rey said with a big, bright smile. Jess couldn't really blame her. He was kind of delightfully charming, in an ornery old man sort of way. He wasn't even that old, honestly. Mid-fifties maybe, but that wouldn't stop her from teasing him about it.

"Anyway, don't you have bingo game to get to? Some kind of early bird special, maybe?" This earned her a hearty laugh.

"Ah, yes, I must have forgotten in my old age. You girls have nice night!" Baze follows him into their apartment with a small wave goodbye. Before their door closed, Jess faintly heard Chirrut ask, "Is she pretty?" Fucking gossipy old man.

Jess was sure she was probably a bit red as the two of them started down the stairs. "They mean well, I think."

Rey giggled. "Do you antagonize all of your neighbors?"

"He started it," she said and bumped Rey's shoulder with her own.

Rey bumped back. "Very mature."

Jess led Rey to a bike rack just outside the door of her building, to a slightly rusted but well-loved baby-blue bike. She patted a handlebar like it was a dog or a small child's head. "This is Blue 3 and I love her dearly."

Rey watched her crouch down to unlock the chain. "What happened to Blues 1 and 2?"

"They got stolen." She swung her leg over the bike and moved up as far forward on the seat as she could manage. Rey climbed on behind her, wrapped her arms around her stomach and oh, this was a bad idea. It was a cold fall night but she suddenly felt warm all over. This feeling would be hard to talk herself out of.

"You know," she started, searching for something, anything to say to distract her from all this feeling as they began moving and Rey's arms tightened around her. "Next time you come over you owe me a rematch. Toad will have his revenge."

"Deal. Be sure to practice," Rey answered, her mouth just inches away from Jess's ear and fuck if that didn't make things worse. 

She hoped Rey didn't mind if they took the long way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Couldn't Jessika have just loaned her bike to Rey?" Shhhhhhhhh just let it be, let it happen
> 
> Btw I have an art blog you can check out if you want to see me be a dork in a different medium http://fridaseyebrow.tumblr.com


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I ever specified that this is set in Chicago but imagine this chapter taking place in Millenium Park, if you've ever been there

"Okay, your turn. One embarrassing fact," Finn prompted. He led Poe by the hand through the park's gardens, the tall green and brown plants contrasting the even taller steel and glass skyscrapers surrounding them. He was still wearing that jacket. This, Poe could say for certain this time, was definitely a date.

"Umm..." He was having a hard time focusing on anything but Finn's hand in his. And he had plenty of embarrassing facts. He settled on just one. "I once cried because of the Great British Bake Off."

Finn let out a loud burst of laughter. "Really?"

"My favorite won! I was proud of her! She gave an inspiring speech and it was all around a very emotional episode of reality television, okay?" Poe defended. Finn sits down in the grass without letting go of his hand, and he follows him down. "Your turn. Same question."

"Hmm, embarrassing fact..." Finn's thinking face was very handsome. All of his faces were handsome, but Poe was partial to the thinking face. "I went by my student ID number instead of my name for most of high school. Does that count?"

Poe felt his face scrunch up in confusion. "What, why?"

"The numbers were in bigger print than the names on our student ID cards and there were a lot of kids per class, so I guess it was just easier to call us by what they read on the cards. If they knew your name it usually meant you were a troublemaker. It being a military school and all. I mean, I'm sure not all military schools are shitty like mine was, but yeah."

"What about the other kids? They called each other by numbers?"

"Sometimes. I kept to myself a lot so most people forgot my name and just called me '2187'."

"That's kinda fucked up, buddy," Poe said, though he was sure Finn already knew that.

Finn shrugged. "It wasn't just me. And I was actually pretty forgettable, in all honesty."

"I doubt that," Poe said immediately, giving Finn's hand a squeeze. "I think you're one of the most interesting people I've met in a good while."

"Thanks." Finn smiled softly at him. His eyes flicked down to Poe's mouth. "You too. Can I kiss you again?"

Poe answered by leaning in and closing the gap between them himself.

Last time, in Finn's dorm room, Finn had very nearly kissed him breathless, the feel of his pulse racing under Poe's hands an assurance that Poe wasn't the only one who was nervous. He'd leaned back against the door for support out of fear that he would literally swoon, and wouldn't that be embarrassing (almost as embarrassing as the stupid comment he'd made just before, _goodnight kiss Dameron really are you fucking serious_ ), but then that meant Finn, all solidity and body heat, was pressing him into the door and oh, that was something else entirely. He headed home that night feeling an odd mix of mortified, elated, and turned on.

To be fair, that summarized how he felt around Finn most of the time.

This time, they were outside and in public and there were old people and little kids around so they separated to a respectable distance after only a few seconds, and Poe didn't crawl into Finn's lap to press him down into the grass and keep kissing him like he imagined. He wondered if Finn would like that. Based on the way he was looking at Poe now it didn't seem like too much of a stretch to say, yes, he probably would.

Poe shook that thought off for now. "I think it's your turn to ask me a question."

"Right." Finn seemed just about as dazed as Poe felt. He thought for a moment, absentmindedly playing with Poe's fingers. "Cats or dogs?"

Poe took a deep breath. "Don't even get me started."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poe's a dog person


	14. Chapter 14

The bike ride back to her dorm building had been something of a sensory overload for Rey. Jess was so close. She didn't smell especially strongly like anything in particular (shampoo maybe, sawdust from working in the woodshop, a little bit of sweat because hey, peddling a single bike with two grown women on it across the neighborhood had to be a workout) but it was like all Rey could breathe in was Jessika. She hadn't been in Rey's dorm room in weeks but when she went to bed it was like the even sheets smelled like her. 

But even more overwhelming was the touching.

Rey didn't touch people, usually. There were exceptions of course. She'd politely shake a hand when necessary. She'd spar with others in her self-defense class, which was a very physical experience. Finn was the main exception. Rey learned quickly after befriending him that he was a hugger and a hand-holder, and she'd actually grown to love that about him. But that was different. Touching Jessika felt like it would leave a visible mark on her skin, however gentle the touch was. On Jess's bike, her arms wrapped around her middle, Rey was almost hyperaware of every point of contact. Jess's hair brushing across her face in the wind, her chest against Jess's back, the inside of her knees pressed into Jess's thighs.

It was all very confusing. Or maybe it wasn't, really, if Rey really thought about it. But days later she was still doing just that. Thinking about it. Even sitting in Skywalker's class, her favorite course with her favorite professor, Rey found herself preoccupied. As if summoned by her thoughts, Rey received a text from Jess.

_J: You have class in the takonda building today right?_

_R: Yeah_

_J: Me too. Wanna get food after? I can pay_

There really was no faster way to Rey's heart.

_R: God bless you_

_J: Lol i'll take that as a yes. What room are u in? I can meet you there_

_R: 1209. You can probably say hi to Luke if u want._ Rey smiled as she typed, anticipating Jess's reaction.

_J: wHEEZE_

_J: YES_

~

"Be cool. He's just an old hippy."

"Just an old hippy," Jess repeated to herself. Rey's classmates were all slowly filing out of the room. "Just an old, world-renowned hippy with installations literally all around the planet and who also happens to be one of the biggest influences in my own artistic practice. No biggie."

"Professor Skywalker," Rey called. Luke looked up from where he was gathering a stack of papers into a fashionably distressed-looking messenger bag. Rey gently pushed Jess forward with a hand on the small of her back. "This is my friend, Jessika. She's a fan of yours."

"Call me Luke, please. 'Professor' makes me feel old," he said, smiling kindly behind his somewhat unkempt beard. He held out his non-prosthetic hand for Jess to shake, which she accepted enthusiastically. "Good to meet you, Jessika. It's not often I get people who call themselves fans!"

Jess just nodded and smiled so big it almost looked painful. This was the first time Rey had ever seen her at a loss for words. She hid a giggle behind her hand before adding, "She's the one who helped me with my last piece."

"Ah, so you're Rey's assistant," he said with a laugh. Jess laughed along nervously. "I'm joking. I'm sure you're a very talented artist in your own right."

"She is," Rey said, bumping her shoulder against Jess's.

"Well, I ought to be be going. If I don't meet my sister for lunch every few weeks, she assumes I've run off to become a hermit on an island somewhere. You ladies have a nice afternoon." He pulled on a long brown coat and made his way toward the door after giving Rey a pat on the arm that felt oddly paternal.

"You too, Mr. Skywalker," Jess answered, finally finding her voice.

"Luke!" he called back as he made his exit.

Once the door closed behind him and the two of them were alone, Jess quickly covered her face with her hands. Apparently deciding that wasn't dramatic enough, she flipped up the hood of her sweatshirt and pulled the strings tight so it closed over her face. "Oh my god, I was so awkward. Holy shit."

"In an endearing sort of way, I promise," Rey soothed, though she laughed as she did so. Probably not helpful. She stepped forward and tugged open the fabric concealing her friend's now bright red face. "I'm sure he was very flattered."

"I can't believe I geeked so hard I couldn't even talk," Jess whined, but seemed to regain some of her composure. She took a deep breath. "Well, you said my name in front of Luke Skywalker. I think I remember promising you a firstborn child for that."

"That's okay, I don't know much at all about childcare." She pushed the hood back down off of Jess's head and suppressed the urge to smooth down the flyaway hairs it left in its wake. Suddenly, Jess wrapped Rey up in a hug, barely having to move closer to reach her. Rey returned the hug with a sense of overwhelmed deja vu. Then, so quick and so soft she thought she may have imagined it, she felt a gentle press of lips against her cheek. The feel of it lingered on her skin, even after Jess stepped back.

"Thanks, Rey. Really. You're the best," Jess said, a genuineness in her tone overtaking her usual joking nature.

"Yeah, well..." Rey felt like her throat was tightening up. Like some kind of allergic reaction, but one that was somehow good? Was that normal? "I try."

"Good, I was starting to worry it was effortless." Before Rey had time to work through that comment, Jess continued on. "So where do you wanna eat? I was thinking maybe that burger place on Wabash. I haven't been there but Snap says they have good shakes."

"That sounds fine," Rey said, shouldering her bag and following Jess out of the classroom.

"I may not have a firstborn child ready for you but I what _can_ do is buy you a cheeseburger."

Rey sighed in pretend exasperation. "I guess I'll settle for that then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to get all of the og trio here maybe


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all saw this coming.

Despite Solo being a harsh critic, Finn's figure painting class was his favorite. He'd learned a lot and even made friends with most of his classmates. There was a sort of zen in just quietly painting for few hours. Unfortunately, he'd also had to spend a depressing amount of money on painting supplies but he preferred not to think about that part. He felt a piece of his soul wither off and die with every trip to the Blick's. But even then, with the end of the semester quickly nearing, he figured he'd miss this class.

Finn showed up on time, not willing to risk another Han Solo Stare Down for being late. He managed to grab one of the good easels (not one of the old, wobbly ones liable to fall and knock your wet painting to the floor, Finn knew from experience) and set up in a well-lit spot a decent distance from where the model would be. He began unpacking his paints from what was once a fishing tackle box that Rey found for him in a dumpster somewhere, or wherever she finds things. He usually didn't ask.

A tap to his shoulder turned him around to see Poe.

"Hey!" Finn said, surprised to see him but pleasantly so. "Are you the model today?"

"Yeah," Poe said, looking oddly concerned. "Is that cool with you? I don't normally do this, like I said, but I could use the extra money. Art shit's expensive."

"I know it, man," Finn agreed, nodding down to where he was squeezing a dollop of each color onto his palette. "But yeah, I'm fine with that. Why wouldn't I be?"

Poe shoved his hands in his pockets. "I don't know. I guess I kind of felt like, 'I just started dating this guy so now I'm gonna show up to this class he's in and get naked,' seems like a weird statement. Kinda like I'm sending you an unsolicited dick pic but like, in person and with my whole body and for art purposes."

Finn considered that for a moment. "So exactly how many dates are you supposed to go on with someone before you're allowed to do nude paintings of them?"

"I not sure if there's a guideline in place for that," Poe admitted with a laugh.

Finn held out his non-paint covered hand with for Poe to hold. He hadn't even started painting yet and he'd already made a mess of himself. How was that even possible? "I think I follow your logic, though. I don't think you have any creepy intentions for doing this, if that's what you were worried about."

"Okay, good," Poe sighed. "I guess it seems like kind of a silly thing to worry about in hindsight but I wanted to check. Otherwise I'd be worrying about making you uncomfortable the whole time and I'd look anxious in all of the paintings. Not a flattering look."

"Can't have that, can we?" Finn laughed. "But thank you for worrying about me, I suppose."

"There's plenty more where that came from, buddy." He gave Finn a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away to talk to Solo, prompting a teasing "oooh" from one of Finn's classmates. Finn tossed a paint-splotched rag in her direction but couldn't keep down a smile.

Painting the nude figure isn't exactly the erotic experience _Titanic_ hyped it to up be, Finn thought to himself as he finished setting up. Repeatedly repainting someone's nipples because you can't get the shadows right isn't exactly arousing. In his experience, everyone involved in the process was very matter of fact, almost clinical about it. So Finn considered himself fairly desensitized to nudity, even when it was his... boyfriend? Neither of them had actually used the word boyfriend yet. Poe had even said that they'd _just_ started dating. His guy who he liked a lot and clearly liked him a lot too and made out with him sometimes? Whatever they were, Finn was confident that he wouldn't be spending the entirety of the class quietly consumed with lust.

But as Poe stepped up onto the model stand and tugged his shirt off over his head, further ruffling his already artfully mussed hair, Finn couldn't help but feel that he'd have a hard time getting this out of his head. He fiddled idly with his brushes as he watched Poe undress out of the corner of his eye. Poe really was beautiful. All of their models were beautiful of course. That was kind of the whole point of the class; finding beauty in all human forms. But Finn was partial to this particular model.

Solo directed Poe into a reclining position, propped up on one elbow with one knee bent, and Finn was vaguely reminded of Michelangelo's _Creation of Adam_. Chewie, Solo's TA, marked the position of each of Poe's limbs with tape so Poe's would know where to put them after returning from the break.

At Han's go-ahead, they started sketching. They start with glorified stick figures, outlining the basic shapes. The curve of Poe's spine, the slight twist to his torso, the angled line of his shoulders tilting opposite to that of his hips. Finn took this time, the easier part before he had to think too much, to just admire. As the minutes ticked by and Finn began to layer paint onto his graphite skeleton, his painting slowly started to resemble its subject.

"Alright, take a break, kid," Solo said after some time, tossing an orange bathrobe at Poe. "Everybody be back here in fifteen." All but a few people left the room, including Han and Chewie, leaving Finn and Poe and a small handful of others.

"Turns out staying very still in one position for an extended period of time is uncomfortable," Poe said, rubbing his neck as he walked over. He'd tied the robe loosely enough around himself that much of his chest was still visible, Finn couldn't help but notice.

Finn cleared his throat. "Our last guy fell asleep and nearly fell out of a chair, so you're doing better than him so far."

"Don't fall asleep. Noted. Can I see your painting?" He moved to stand behind Finn, looking over his shoulder, and Finn felt a sudden surge of self-consciousness. The unfinished painting was like looking at Poe through fogged class, mostly recognizable in shape and color and the highest points of light and shadow, but blurry and unrefined with very little detail.

"It's a work in progress," Finn said, then immediately felt silly. "Obviously. You knew that. I didn't need to tell you that."

"What, you don't like it?" Poe asked. Finn sighed. He supposed that if he could read Poe's nervousness, it was only fair that Poe could read his too.

He shrugged noncommittally. "It's okay, I guess. It's just kinda hard not to be a little discouraged when the guy next to me is doing a whole Caravaggio painting in an hour."

"But I like your paintings. Caravaggio's got nothing on you, as far as I'm concerned."

Finn laughed softly and turned to meet Poe's eyes. "That's sweet of you but I think you might be biased."

"Art is subjective, right?" Poe said with a shrug and Finn pretended not to notice the way it made the robe slip just slightly more open across his shoulders. He just saw the guy full naked and now he's flustered by a bit of collarbone? "I'm supposed to be biased."

"Well, thank you. I like your photos better than..." He thought for a moment. "I'll be honest, I don't really know any famous photographers. I kind of just stay in my painter lane. But you're my favorite."

"Vivian Maier? Sally Mann? Francesca Woodman?" Poe offers. "There's a few of them."

"Yep. All of those. What you just said." Finn made a mental note to do some research as Poe chuckled. "You know, you kind of look like a Caravaggio painting."

"Oh, yeah?" Poe asked, clearly amused. "Is it the current lack of clothes or just the general gay aura?"

"That and the curls and the doe-eyes. You just need a basket of fruit and/or a guy to decapitate."

"I am not doe-eyed," Poe argued.

"Tell that to your eyelashes," Finn said, batting his own.

Poe leaned away and flattened a hand against his (still distractingly bare) chest, but smiled as he did so. "I can't tell if you're mocking me or flirting with me."

"I'm ninety-nine percent flirting."

"It's one-hundred percent working," Poe laughed and moved about halfway in for a kiss before stopping. He glanced around at the handful of Finn's classmates who were still in the room. "So, thoughts on PDA?"

"I'm in favor," Finn answered and pulled him the rest of the way in with a handful of that stupid bathrobe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I have an art blog of fluctuating quality you can look at if you wanna watch me stumble my way through digital drawing: http://fridaseyebrow.tumblr.com


End file.
